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Corbyn to Blame Johnson for Using Queen’s Speech as ‘Cynical Stunt’ Ahead of Elections – Report

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Prime Minister Boris Johnson earlier urged the UK parliament to reject what he described as "Jeremy Corbyn's surrender bill", that would block a no-deal Brexit. This comes as the clock is ticking down ahead of the 31 October deadline, when the UK is due to leave the EU with or without a withdrawal agreement, in line with Johnson’s previous pledge.

Britain’s Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is expected to accuse Prime Minister Boris Johnson of using the traditional Queen’s speech next week as a “stunt” ahead of the expected general election, according to a transcript of Corbyn’s upcoming speech in Northampton, a copy of which was obtained by The Guardian.

He will say later in the day that next Monday, the British MPs “will be treated to the farce of Boris Johnson’s Conservative government, amid full pomp and ceremony, setting out an agenda to parliament that it has no intention or means of delivering”.

© REUTERS / UK Parliament/Roger HarrisBritain's Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn speaks at the House of Commons in London, Britain September 3, 2019
Corbyn to Blame Johnson for Using Queen’s Speech as ‘Cynical Stunt’ Ahead of Elections – Report - Sputnik International
Britain's Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn speaks at the House of Commons in London, Britain September 3, 2019

“Holding a Queen’s speech before an election is a cynical stunt. Johnson is using the Queen to deliver a pre-election party political broadcast for the Conservative Party,” Corbyn will claim.

He will blame the government for failing “to put any legislation before parliament” in the run-up to the general election.

The government “has a majority of minus 45, a 100% record of defeat in the Commons and is seeking a general election which will end the parliamentary session the Queen is about to open”, Corbyn is expected to argue.

Additionally, Corbyn is due to use the Northampton speech to reiterate his position that the Labour Party will agree to a general election as soon as a no-deal Brexit has been taken “off the table”.

He will blame Johnson for “pretending not to want an election and pretending that it’s Labour that doesn’t want one”.

“So let me address this directly: prime minister, we can’t trust you not to break the law because you’ve got form. We can’t trust you not to use the period of an election campaign to drive our country off a no-deal cliff-edge that will crash our economy, destroy jobs and industries, cause shortages of medicine and food and endanger peace in Northern Ireland”, Corbyn will point out.

He will urge Johnson to “obey the law and take no deal off the table” ahead of the election, adding that Labour is “ready and champing at the bit”.

“There’s only one reason it hasn’t happened yet – we can’t trust you”, Corbyn will underscore.

Johnson Calls For Rejecting ‘Corbyn’s Surrender Bill’

His forthcoming speech in Northampton comes a week after Johnson urged the UK Parliament to reject the bill that he claimed should be known as "Jeremy Corbyn's surrender bill" that would block a no-withdrawal agreement.

“There is one step that would jeopardise all the progress that we have made in the G7 and around the capitals of Europe, and that is if this House were to decide that it was simply impossible for us to leave without a deal. And to make that step illegal, to force us, that's what they want […] to force us to beg for yet another pointless delay,” Johnson said.

© AFP 2023 / BEN STANSALLBritain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson (C) returns to his hotel after giving media interviews ahead of the third day of the annual Conservative Party conference in Manchester, north-west England on October 1, 2019.
Corbyn to Blame Johnson for Using Queen’s Speech as ‘Cynical Stunt’ Ahead of Elections – Report - Sputnik International
Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson (C) returns to his hotel after giving media interviews ahead of the third day of the annual Conservative Party conference in Manchester, north-west England on October 1, 2019.

He spoke after Corbyn said that opposition parties were looking into ways to block Johnson's plans to call snap elections in order to force a hard Brexit.

In mid-August, the UK Prime Minister received the Queen's approval to prorogue Parliament until 14 October. Commenting on his decision, Johnson said that the previous session had lasted for 340 days and should be brought to a close.

Brexit was initially supposed to have happened on 29 March but was postponed to 31 October amid the UK government's failure to negotiate divorce terms. Johnson is determined to leave the European Union by the deadline, even in the case of a no-deal scenario, which could result in significant economic fallout.

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